BUFFALO, N.Y. – Adding or removing water from a stem cell can change the destiny of the cell, researchers have discovered in a new study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

The research found that altering the volume of a cell changed its internal dynamics, including the rigidness of the matrix lining the outer surface. In stem cells, removing water condenses the cell, influencing the stem cells to become stiff pre-bone cells, while adding water causes the cells to swell, forming soft pre-fat cells.

Researchers have long understood that stem cells are influenced by the cells around them, picking up cues on what their function should be based on the stiffness of the matrices of neighboring cells.

The results, however, confirm that nature plays as much of a role as nurture in stem cell behavior and development.

"The findings from this study add a fascinating new tool to our understanding and utilization of stem cell biology for regenerative medicine," says Praveen Arany, DDS, PhD, co-author and assistant professor in the Department of Oral Biology in the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

The study was led by Ming Guo, PhD, d'Arbeloff Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and David Weitz, PhD, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University.

"For the first time, we're beginning to understand the importance of cell volume and cellular water content in the mechanical properties and physiological functions of cells," says Guo, who began the research as a graduate student in Weitz's lab at Harvard.

The Line Between Bone and Fat

The research originally sought to understand the effects of volume on a cell's characteristics and functions. Cell volume is highly regulated and changes frequently over the course of a cell's life, increasing as the cell grows and decreasing when it divides.

These changes in volume are a result of variations in the amount of protein, DNA and other materials within the cell, though they mostly remain constant. But cells can also experience rapid and extreme changes in size and density through the absorption or release of water, spreading or shrinking in as little as 20 minutes.

By increasing or decreasing the volume of cells by 20 percent, the investigators found that the cells experienced several internal changes, including in gene expression and stiffness.

Knowing the role cell stiffness plays in the development of stem cells, the researchers began to wonder if cell volume could affect their fate as well.

To test the premise, investigators placed stem cells at their normal volume in a hardened hydrogel substrate to simulate the rigidness of bone cells. After one week, a large portion of the stem cells developed into pre-bone cells.

The experiment was repeated with a softened hydrogel substrate. In the softer environment, there was a significant decrease in the number of stem cells that became pre-bone cells. However, when water was removed from the cells to decrease their volume by 20 percent, the number of stem cells that became pre-bone cells increased, despite being in the softer substrate.

A similar experiment was conducted using glass. Researchers placed stem cells on glass to simulate a stiffer environment and found that few of the cells developed into pre-fat cells. It was not until the volume of the stem cells was increased by 20 percent that a spike in the formation of fat cells was found.

The investigators discovered that changing the volume of the cells caused them to behave similarly to as if they were under environmental pressures.

"The surprising thing about these experiments is the observation that volume seems to be related to so much about the cell. It seems to dictate the cell stiffness as well as the cell fate," says Weitz, also a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at Harvard.

"These observations may also have implications in external means of monitoring cell fate, which may be important for future biotech applications."

Future studies are needed to examine the effects of varied changes in volume, as well as if cell volume or external cues are the dominating factor in the fate of stem cells.

The Future of Regenerative Medicine

Stem cells sit at the forefront of regenerative medicine, providing researchers and clinicians with the potential to repair or replace damaged tissue and organs.

With the ability to develop into any type of specialized cell – from a muscle cell to a red blood or brain cell – stem cells hold the potential to treat various diseases and conditions, from heart disease to tooth loss. Bone marrow transplantation, one form of stem cell therapy, is already in widespread use.

Stem cells may also aid in drug development and the understanding of how cancer and birth defects occur.

Learning what causes differentiation among these cells will help researchers generate methods that influence their behavior and, ultimately, develop new therapies.

Aside from physical cues such as cell stiffness or volume, stem cell differentiation can be influenced by a number of biological factors, pharmaceutical drugs or biophysical agents, such as light, ultrasound and radio frequencies.

Original Source

]]>https://scienmag.com/amount-of-water-in-stem-cells-can-determine-its-fate-as-fat-or-bone/feed/01562312Caribbean spiders named for Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders David Bowie, and othershttps://scienmag.com/caribbean-spiders-named-for-barack-obama-bernie-sanders-david-bowie-and-others/
https://scienmag.com/caribbean-spiders-named-for-barack-obama-bernie-sanders-david-bowie-and-others/#respondTue, 26 Sep 2017 17:27:12 +0000https://scienmag.com/caribbean-spiders-named-for-barack-obama-bernie-sanders-david-bowie-and-others/A new paper published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society has identified and named 15 new species of spider in the Caribbean. Given the vernacular names "smiley faced" spiders due to the ..

]]>A new paper published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society has identified and named 15 new species of spider in the Caribbean. Given the vernacular names "smiley faced" spiders due to the distinctive markings on their backs, the new species have been given names including S. davidattenboroughi, S. barackobamai, and S.leonardodicaprioi.

Although the Caribbean region is recognized as a hotspot for biodiversity, many species remain understudied. The "smiley faced" spider is a key example of this. Despite having profuse variation in its distinct colour patterns it was, until recently, thought to be one species with extensive variation. However, the first molecular study of 'smiley faced' spiders has revealed that there are many more species within the genus, of which 15 are described in the paper.

The discovery of these new species not only changes our estimates of biodiversity, but has a big impact for conservation biology. Each species now requires elevation of its conservation status and, as each new species of "smiley face" spiders has its own unique "smile," the newly distinguished variation may become a source of local pride. (Researchers collected specimens from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Lesser Antilles, Florida, South Carolina, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia.)

Alongside titles honouring family members and pets of the paper's authors, many species are named after notable figures. Some of the most recognisable names include:

Spintharus barackobamai In honour of former President Barack Obama the authors of the paper named this species to honour "the dignity, humanitarianism, statesmanship, and respect" they considered Obama to have brought to the oval office.

Spintharus berniesandersi Named for former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, this species was named to honour a politician the paper characterizes as "a tireless fighter for human rights and equality, and environmentally aware social democracy."

Spintharus davidattenboroughi Named after the naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, this species was titled to honour his "extraordinary effort to enlighten the public about the wonders of the natural world, to make humanity care about nature, and for inspiring countless people to pursue the study of biology."

Spintharus davidbowiei The article authors named this species to honour "the great artist David Bowie who passed away prematurely in 2016, but whose music will continue to inspire the generations to come."

Spintharus leonardodicaprioi This species is named in tribute to the actor Leonardo DiCaprio for his "amazing acting, and, in particular, for his leading role in bringing awareness of the perils of global climate change to the public and politicians."

Spintharus michelleobamaae The authors of the paper named this species in honour of Michelle Obama, "who has long fought to defend human rights, fairness, and equality for all, with her characteristic dignity and grace."

"This was an undergraduate research project," says Ingi Agnarsson, associate professor and curator of invertebrate collections in the department of biology at the University of Vermont, who led the new study. "In naming these spiders, the students and I wanted to honor people who stood up for both human rights and warned about climate change–leaders and artists who promoted sensible approaches for a better world."

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The paper "A radiation of the ornate Caribbean 'smiley-faced spiders', with descriptions of 15 new species (Araneae, Theridiidae, Spintharus)" is available at: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx056/4222834/A-radiation-of-the-ornate-Caribbean-smiley-faced

]]>https://scienmag.com/caribbean-spiders-named-for-barack-obama-bernie-sanders-david-bowie-and-others/feed/01562292International prize recognizes Northwest ocean research programhttps://scienmag.com/international-prize-recognizes-northwest-ocean-research-program/
https://scienmag.com/international-prize-recognizes-northwest-ocean-research-program/#respondTue, 26 Sep 2017 16:57:19 +0000https://scienmag.com/international-prize-recognizes-northwest-ocean-research-program/Credit: Jennifer Fisher/Oregon State University Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies
At least every few weeks since the early 1960s, scientists have set out from Newport, Oregon, to sa..

At least every few weeks since the early 1960s, scientists have set out from Newport, Oregon, to sample ocean conditions for what has become one of the most consistent, longest-lived, and scientifically valuable ocean monitoring programs on the West Coast of North America.

The scientists travel due west along what is known as the Newport Hydrographic Line, gauging temperatures, salinity and many other factors at regular intervals along the way.

This week NOAA Fisheries' Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Oregon State University received a major international award for jointly maintaining the Newport Line for more than 50 years, yielding new scientific insight into climate patterns such as El Nino and La Nina, salmon returns, ocean currents and much more.

Research based on data from the Newport Line has led to more than 120 scientific publications, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (called PICES) noted in the presentation of its PICES Ocean Monitoring Service Award (POMA) at its annual meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, on Monday.

The award "recognizes organizations, groups and outstanding individuals that have contributed significantly to the advancement of marine science in the North Pacific through long-term ocean monitoring and data management," PICES said.

The international organization specifically cited the late Bill Peterson, a well-known oceanographer at the NWFSC's Newport Research Station who died in August, for his dedication to maintaining the Newport Line in recent decades. The nomination was supported by international organizations including the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

"This is a tremendous honor for NOAA Fisheries, but most importantly a great recognition of Bill's devotion to the Newport Line and all the critical science that it has produced through the decades," said Kevin Werner, Director of the NWFSC. "Without the Newport Line, and without Bill's support, we would not know nearly as much about the ocean off the Pacific Northwest – how it changes, how it works and what that means for those of us who live here."

Sampling along the Newport Line was instrumental in tracking and helping scientists understand unusually warm ocean conditions in recent years that led to unprecedented changes in marine species off the Pacific Northwest. By tracking conditions and the type of zooplankton found along the line, Peterson and other researchers have also learned how to better estimate salmon returns to the Columbia River and other parts of the Northwest.

The Newport Line is one of the few such longstanding ocean monitoring programs on the West Coast, said Hal Batchelder, a former OSU professor and now Deputy Executive Secretary of PICES. "It's remarkable how long it has continued and how many scientists have benefited from its data," he said.

The roughly 200 people at the PICES annual meeting in Russia bowed their heads in silence on Monday in memory of Peterson and his contributions to the Newport Line.

]]>https://scienmag.com/international-prize-recognizes-northwest-ocean-research-program/feed/01562287Two Caribbean bird-catcher trees named after 2 women with overlooked botanical workshttps://scienmag.com/two-caribbean-bird-catcher-trees-named-after-2-women-with-overlooked-botanical-works/
https://scienmag.com/two-caribbean-bird-catcher-trees-named-after-2-women-with-overlooked-botanical-works/#respondTue, 26 Sep 2017 16:56:45 +0000https://scienmag.com/two-caribbean-bird-catcher-trees-named-after-2-women-with-overlooked-botanical-works/Credit: Rosimar Rivera Colón
Known for their biodiversity richness, the Caribbean Islands are now adding two new species of bird-catcher trees to their list of botanical treasures. Commonly referred..

Known for their biodiversity richness, the Caribbean Islands are now adding two new species of bird-catcher trees to their list of botanical treasures. Commonly referred to as bird-catcher trees, the species whose ripe fruits are sticky and can be glued to birds, are from the four-o'clock family (Nyctaginaceae) and only found in Puerto Rico.

Baptised Pisonia horneae and Pisonia roqueae by authors Marcos A. Caraballo-Ortiz, doctoral candidate at The Pennsylvania State University, US and Jorge C. Trejo-Torres, researcher at The Institute for Regional Conservation in Florida, US, the two unusual trees were named to honor the unrecognised work of two extraordinary self-driven women who devoted decades on educational projects in botany. The research was published in the open access journal Phytokeys.

"Finding large organisms new to science from a relatively small and well-studied island seems implausible, but this recent naming of the two large trees from Puerto Rico proves that explorations in nature and museums can still produce exciting novelties." explains Trejo-Torres.

The two new trees belong to an extraordinary genus (Pisonia), containing rare plants mainly known for the ability to tangle birds with their sticky fruits, which inspired the common name "bird-catcher" used in the Pacific region. Characteristic for the two new trees are also swollen trunks that wrap over the rocks resembling an elephant foot with toes.

"Birds are the main dispersal agents for Pisonia trees, carrying the sticky fruits glued to their feathers to distant islands. However, sometimes these fruits can trap too tightly and even kills birds, as seen in documentaries." remarks lead author, Caraballo-Ortiz. "So far, we do not know of cases where birds have been trapped by the sticky fruits of the new species, but future studies will explore this possibility"

One of the trees, Pisonia horneae, is dedicated to Frances W. Horne (1873-1967), an American illustrator who spent 45 years painting 750 watercolors of plants from Puerto Rico, of which only a small fraction were published. The other tree, Pisonia roqueae, was named after Dr. Ana Roqué de Duprey (1853-1933), a Puerto Rican educator, writer, and suffragist. As an amateur ethnobotanist, she spent over three decades to prepare a manuscript aimed to make botany accessible to the general public, which was never published.

"It only seemed natural to name the two new species after these two extraordinary women who spent decades on large educational projects aimed to divulge botanical knowledge in Puerto Rico." explains Trejo-Torres. "Just like the two large trees remained unrecognised by science until now, the enormous efforts of these two women, who dedicated part of their lives to botanical work, remained largely unrecognised by the community."

"The scientific relevance of naming these trees is that they thrive in the Puerto Rican forests, including the Luquillo Mountains, which are among the most well studied areas in the world. World-scattered ecologists and conservationists actively working on Puerto Rican forests and plants now have a nice and surprising update to make in their databases." concluded Caraballo-Ortiz.

Funding organisations include the United States Department of Agriculture-Forest Service-International Institute of Tropical Forestry, The Institute for Regional Conservation, and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

NEW YORK (September 26, 2017) – A new WCS study, published in the journal Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, of fish traders in coastal Kenya shows that women largely occupied fisheries with the lowest profits and are not saving money while working in these fisheries. Management actions that intend to increase profits and sustainability, such as restrictions on use of gear that catch the smallest fish, have the potential to exclude female traders unless management also promotes social equity and gender coexistence.

The study, by Tim McClanahan and Caroline Abunge of WCS Kenya Marine Program, suggests that women have difficulties persisting in the more profitable fisheries, which along the coast of Kenya are often those where low numbers of larger fish are caught. Men largely occupy the profitable fisheries and women are more likely to fill trader roles in fisheries with the lowest profits. These low-profit fisheries generally focus on the catch of a large variety of small fish, often at unsustainable levels. The authors' findings result from a study of 142 traders in 19 Kenyan coral reef fisheries that varied in their management and profitability.

The authors argue that if promoting sustainability and profits are not managed to promote female inclusion, women can easily and unintentionally be excluded. Further, in the absence of good management and social equity programs, women can become the dominant traders and yet fail to make profits or achieve sustainability. This follows increasing awareness on the roles that gender and management can play in fisheries, which is expressed in recent UN-FAO fisheries development themes.

Said lead author, Senior Conservation Zoologist Tim McClanahan: "Ignoring gender in fisheries has the potential to undermine efforts to achieve two social goals: gender equity and fisheries sustainability. Both goals are best achieved when addressed together."

Maintaining resources at intermediate levels where overall production, catch, and fish body size diversity are high, and increasing gear and market diversity will help achieve gender coexistence and sustainability according to the authors. Participating in profitable fisheries requires traders to have capital, use cell phones to communicate with distance markets, and take risks; behaviors that were more common among the male traders in this study. Female traders need capital and greater mobility in order to reduce their chances of exclusion from more profitable and sustainable fisheries. Women in coastal Kenya also need better access to fisheries knowledge and general education to help them take more active roles in fisheries management interventions.

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This work was made possible by The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, a longstanding supporter of WCS's marine conservation program since 2000. Kenya's Office of Science and Technology provided research clearance.

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world's oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.

Unusually warm ocean conditions off the Pacific Northwest in the last few years led anchovies, sardines and hake to begin spawning in Northwest waters much earlier in the year and, for anchovy, longer than biologists have ever recorded before, new research has found.

The rapid northerly shifts in spawning may offer a preview of future conditions if ocean warming continues, according to the new study published in Global Change Biology by scientists from the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Oregon State University and NOAA Fisheries' Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

Some species may spend less time in southern waters off California, where anchovy and sardines have been less prevalent in recent years, and more of the year off the Northwest, the authors suggest. From 2015 to 2016 researchers found the highest concentrations of sardine, anchovy and hake larvae in the Northern California Current, off the Pacific Northwest, than they have in any year since collections began in 1998.

"Changes in spawning timing and poleward migration of fish populations due to warmer ocean conditions or global climate change will negatively affect areas that were historically dependent on these fish, and change the food web structure of the areas that the fish move into with unforeseen consequences," researchers wrote.

The research drew on samples collected from a transect off the central Oregon Coast called the Newport Hydrographic Line, where scientists have regularly measured ocean conditions for decades.

Scientists have never collected anchovy, sardine and hake larvae off the Northwest as early in the year as they did through 2015 and 2016, and have never found anchovy larvae throughout as much of the year. The presence of anchovy larvae through almost the entire year indicates the species was spawning nearly continuously through the winter, far longer than its usual summer spawning period in the region, researchers found.

Anchovies and sardines typically spawn offshore, within the Columbia River plume. In the last few years, though, researchers have found their eggs and larvae within about a mile of shore.

"We're getting these species that usually just spawn off the Northwest in the summer time, and now they're spawning year-round," said Ric Brodeur, a NOAA Fisheries research scientist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center's research station in Newport, Oregon, and coauthor of the paper. "Things are changing so much, it's hard to say what's normal these days."

While Pacific hake usually spawn off California, surveys in February 2016 found hake larvae earlier in the year and at higher concentrations than they have ever observed in the Northern California Current before. Later summer surveys by Brodeur's group found very high abundances of juvenile hake off northern Oregon and southern Washington, which is highly unusual and suggests that many of the commercially important fish survived beyond the larval stage.

Scientists also found larvae of unusual species such as Pacific pompano, which normally spawns in the southern California Current in the spring and summer. It was the first documented occurrence of pompano larvae off Oregon in at least 19 years.

The presence of fish such as anchovy and sardine earlier in the year may provide an additional food source for other species such as young salmon that have just migrated to the ocean, Brodeur said. At the same time, they may also have other impacts on the food web that have yet to be measured, including possibly competing with typical winter-spawning fishes for food.

"As is often the case with ecosystem change, some species may benefit from changes in distribution and timing of prey whereas others may not be able to adapt and subsequently decline," said Toby Auth of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and lead author of the paper. "Only through continued, regular surveys will we be able to discern the signals of future anomalies and their relationship to global climate change."

MANHATTAN, KANSAS — A mock space capsule has landed in Kansas State University's Ice Hall. In this built-to-scale model of the Orion spacecraft, "astronauts" practice emergency escape maneuvers while a university kinesiology team studies their health and fitness levels.

It's all part of NASA's plan for further human exploration of the solar system, from a Mars mission to a deep space mission.

The university research team — led by Carl Ade, assistant professor of exercise physiology, and Thomas Barstow, professor of exercise physiology — has partnered with the Johnson Space Center in Houston to tackle a major challenge for these long-duration space missions: the return to earth.

"Maintaining astronaut health is critical to NASA missions, and we need to be able to keep astronauts safe in flight and during landing," said Ade, who has previously studied astronaut health. "By knowing fitness and health standards, we can determine types of in-fight interventions to keep astronauts healthy on long-duration missions that can last several years."

Ade and Barstow are using a two-year NASA grant to study the strength, cardiovascular health and aerobic capacity that astronauts need for an end-of-mission landing or an emergency escape.

That's where the model Orion spacecraft fits in. After a deep space mission, the Orion spacecraft will land in the ocean and astronauts must perform a quick emergency escape. Astronauts must get out of their chairs, climb a ladder out of the capsule and get into a life raft — all difficult tasks after several months in zero-gravity environments. Microgravity is tough on astronauts' bodies and can deteriorate skeleton, muscle and cardiovascular systems.

There's an added challenge: Astronauts must do all of these tasks while inside a capsule that is rocking on the waves of an ocean. All in all, it creates a jolting return to earth.

"We want to determine if astronauts need to reserve a certain level of strength or cardiovascular capacity during flight so that they can land safely after a one- or two-year mission," Ade said. "The model capsule lets us test that in a way that is translatable and allows NASA to apply it directly to future missions."

Ade and the team are studying research participants as they perform the same tasks in the model capsule as astronauts would during an emergency escape. Participants wear special equipment that takes physiological measurements — such as muscle activity, oxygen uptake, heart rate and blood pressure — to determine what kind of stress the body experiences during an emergency escape.

The mock-up Orion capsule is constructed to the exact dimensions as the real version. The research team traveled to Johnson Space Center to make measurements, look at blueprints and develop a way to create the space capsule in Kansas. Local manufacturing companies helped with the design and frame. Once the capsule frame arrived at the Manhattan campus, the research team — including graduate and undergraduate students — finished the construction.

"We have a great group of graduate and undergraduate students who have come together and helped us with all aspects of this project, from construction to testing," Barstow said.

The project can help the general population as well. During deep space missions, astronauts must maintain their physical and cardiovascular capacity in a confined space with few medical resources. If the researchers can find possible interventions with these restrictions, they could apply the same methods to clinical patients or possibly geographic areas without access to medical facilities and resources.

"If we can figure out how to keep an astronaut healthy in this extreme environment, we can translate that to life on earth," Ade said. "This research is really helping both individuals: the astronaut and those here on Earth."

The research is a continuation of nearly 10 years of NASA-funded research to improve astronaut health and determine fitness standards.

"Our goal is to provide information on how fit an astronaut needs to be when they leave so that when they get to the destination or when they return to earth, they will be strong enough to perform mission tasks, even after several months in a zero-gravity environment," Barstow said.

]]>https://scienmag.com/with-mock-space-capsule-researchers-partner-with-nasa-to-study-astronaut-fitness/feed/01562253Some marine species more vulnerable to climate change than othershttps://scienmag.com/some-marine-species-more-vulnerable-to-climate-change-than-others/
https://scienmag.com/some-marine-species-more-vulnerable-to-climate-change-than-others/#respondTue, 26 Sep 2017 16:25:42 +0000https://scienmag.com/some-marine-species-more-vulnerable-to-climate-change-than-others/Credit: UBC
Certain marine species will fare much worse than others as they become more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new UBC study has found.
After analyzing the biological chara..

Certain marine species will fare much worse than others as they become more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new UBC study has found.

After analyzing the biological characteristics of 1,074 marine fish and shellfish, the study identified 294 species that are most at-risk due to climate change by 2050. Species most at-risk include the Eastern Australian salmon, yellowbar angelfish, toli shad, sohal surgeonfish and spotted grouper.

"We hope that this study will highlight the marine species that are most in need of management and conservation actions under climate change," said William Cheung, associate professor in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and director of science for the Nippon Foundation – UBC Nereus Program.

As part of the study, UBC researchers created a database that examines the long-term vulnerability of marine species that are important to fisheries around the world. The database was developed with an approach that uses "fuzzy logic" to combine information about the biological sensitivity of these species to environmental changes as well as their projected exposure to changes in the ocean including temperature and oxygen and acidity levels.

"How susceptible are Atlantic cod to climate change compared to skipjack tuna? How about smaller fishes such as anchovy and pilchard?" asked Cheung. "We know that some characteristics of the species make them more sensitive and less resilient to climate change."

The factors that restrict whether fish or shellfish can adapt to climate change include their preferred temperature range, restrictions on their geographic range, how long it takes to reproduce, and specific habitat requirements such as needing kelp or coral reef to survive.

"Eastern Australian salmon is highly vulnerable because their distribution is limited to shallow coastal and estuarine waters in southern Australia and New Zealand," said Miranda Jones, the study's lead author, who was a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries when the study was underway. "The species lives in habitats that are exposed to large changes in ocean conditions and have limited scope to avoid these changes."

In Canada, sockeye salmon, along with the alewife, Pacific bonito, and sharks such as the porbeagle and thresher, are identified as at risk to climate change impacts. In contrast, some species such as the Pacific sanddab, blue crab and Pacific sandlance have less vulnerable biological characteristics and live in areas that are relatively less affected by climate change.

The study "Using fuzzy logic to determine the vulnerability of marine species to climate change" was published today in Global Change Biology: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13869/full

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This research was funded by the Nippon Foundation – UBC Nereus Program and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.

Background

The researchers used "fuzzy logic" to develop this database. Fuzzy logic allows reasoning and drawing conclusions based on the best available expert and scientific knowledge, even with incomplete or uncertain information. Such fuzzy logic approaches have been applied to study marine biodiversity conservation and fisheries management.

About the Nippon Foundation-UBC Nereus Program

The Nereus Program, a collaboration between the Nippon Foundation and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia, has engaged in innovative, interdisciplinary ocean research since its inception in 2011. The program is currently a global partnership of twenty leading marine science institutes with the aim of undertaking research that advances our comprehensive understandings of the global ocean systems across the natural and social sciences, from oceanography and marine ecology to fisheries economics and impacts on coastal communities. Visit nereusprogram.org for more information.

]]>https://scienmag.com/some-marine-species-more-vulnerable-to-climate-change-than-others/feed/01562249Antibiotics warranted for kids with minor staph infectionshttps://scienmag.com/antibiotics-warranted-for-kids-with-minor-staph-infections/
https://scienmag.com/antibiotics-warranted-for-kids-with-minor-staph-infections/#respondTue, 26 Sep 2017 16:25:15 +0000https://scienmag.com/antibiotics-warranted-for-kids-with-minor-staph-infections/Credit: Washington University School of Medicine
The overuse of antibiotics has left some doctors questioning whether to give such drugs to children diagnosed with uncomplicated staph infections. Su..

The overuse of antibiotics has left some doctors questioning whether to give such drugs to children diagnosed with uncomplicated staph infections. Such infections often occur on the skin and look like a pus-filled bug bite.

Now, research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that prescribing antibiotics — in addition to lancing and draining staph-infected areas — reduces the risk of recurrent infections.

The study, conducted with researchers at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, is published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"There have been conflicting data about the benefit to antibiotics in minor staph infections," said the study's senior author, Stephanie A. Fritz, MD, a Washington University associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases. "It is definitely important to surgically remove pus from the infection site, but also giving antibiotics means that the child will be less likely to see a doctor again in several months for another staph infection."

In the study, the researchers evaluated 383 children — with a median age of 3 years old — whose infections with the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (staph) required incision and drainage. The patients also had colonization of staph in their nostrils or on their skin.

The children were evaluated for the bacteria and reinfection several times over a year; of these patients, 355 (93 percent) received antibiotics coupled with incision and drainage treatment.

A month after initial infection, bacterial swab tests found that half of the children (178) who had received antibiotics had no signs of staph living on their skin or in their nostrils, reducing the risk of recurring infection. However, the bacteria remained on the skin of about three-fourths of the children (26) who did not receive antibiotics.

Additionally, children who remained colonized with staph a month after initial infection were about twice as likely to experience a recurrent infection than those who did not have staph on their skin. That's 101 children (60 percent) compared with 54 children (30 percent).

Staph generally live harmlessly on the skin in about one-third of the human population, Fritz said. However, staph infections have become a worsening health problem, affecting not only those with weakened immune systems but otherwise healthy children and adults.

At St. Louis Children's Hospital, where Fritz treats patients, about 50 children are hospitalized each year with staph infections. Overall, about 800 children admitted to the hospital's emergency department each year have staph infections; most are treated and discharged.

"In recent years, studies have demonstrated that staph infections are prominent in both hospitals and in the community," Fritz said. "For example, we have seen a dramatic increase in community-associated infections since 2000."

Staph may become life-threatening when it enters the bloodstream, bones or organs through skin-to-skin contact or by touching a contaminated object. When an infection turns serious, health-care workers typically give patients intravenous antibiotics.

However, some health-care workers have hesitated prescribing antibiotics for children with minor staph infections because of increasing antibiotic resistance. The most common such strain is known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which may cause pneumonia, severe organ damage and death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 11,000 adults and children die annually of MRSA infections.

Although it might seem counterintuitive, prescribing antibiotics for minor staph infections helps to reduce antibiotic resistance, said the study's first author, Patrick Hogan, a clinical research specialist at the School of Medicine. "Using antibiotics judiciously to treat staph infections eliminates staph colonization and prevents more infection from occurring in the future," he said. "This reduces the overall burden of the staph germ on the environment and people, which results in less recurrence and, therefore, less antibiotic use."

The study primarily evaluated the antibiotics clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX). Of the two drugs, clindamycin was the most effective at eliminating staph colonization and preventing recurrent infection. Why clindamycin was superior to other antibiotics is unknown and warrants further study, Hogan said.

]]>https://scienmag.com/antibiotics-warranted-for-kids-with-minor-staph-infections/feed/01562245Predatory bacteria found in study of cystic fibrosis patients’ lung microbiomehttps://scienmag.com/predatory-bacteria-found-in-study-of-cystic-fibrosis-patients-lung-microbiome/
https://scienmag.com/predatory-bacteria-found-in-study-of-cystic-fibrosis-patients-lung-microbiome/#respondTue, 26 Sep 2017 15:22:24 +0000https://scienmag.com/predatory-bacteria-found-in-study-of-cystic-fibrosis-patients-lung-microbiome/WASHINGTON, DC - September 26, 2017 - Cystic fibrosis patients have a wide variety of bacteria in their lungs, including two 'predators' not detected before, according to a new study of lung..

]]>WASHINGTON, DC – September 26, 2017 – Cystic fibrosis patients have a wide variety of bacteria in their lungs, including two 'predators' not detected before, according to a new study of lung microorganisms published this week in mBio®, an online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Using a laboratory technique called next-generation sequencing, a group of investigators from Madrid, Spain, studied the bacterial makeup of sputum samples provided by 15 cystic fibrosis patients three to four times over the course of a year. They found a wide range of bacterial species in the samples, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Burkholderia and Pandorea. Each patient had his or her own bacterial makeup that remained relatively steady over the study period.

What surprised researchers was also finding two types of predator bacteria among the samples. Vampirovibrio, a bacteria that destroys cells by sucking out its contents, was found in 17 samples from 12 patients, while Bdellovibrio, which enters cells and feeds on its proteins, was found in six samples from three patients. The two types were found together in only one patient. Developing a novel computer science model to explain the relationship between these predators and potential prey bacteria, the investigators hypothesized that the predators, in the early stage of disease, may prevent the colonization of bacteria like P. aeruginosa normally associated with cystic fibrosis.

Predator bacteria "are ubiquitous and usually found in environmental aquatic ecosystems," said senior study author Rosa del Campo, of the Microbiology Service at Ramón y Cayal University Hospital. "In humans, a recent study has found them in the intestinal microbiota of healthy individuals and in patients with cystic fibrosis."

The findings indicate that "the lung microbiota in cystic fibrosis patients is more complex than we believed," she said. "Our study suggests that predatory bacteria could be used as a therapeutic strategy to reduce the bacterial load of the lungs of these patients."

The natural evolution of cystic fibrosis is a progressive decline in lung function caused by a vicious circle of inflammation and tissue destruction, which is triggered and maintained by the chronic bacterial colonization of the lower respiratory tract, del Campo said. "It is generally acknowledged that once bacterial colonization is established in the lung, its eradication is almost impossible, despite consistent antibiotic treatment," she said.

The next steps for her team include cultivating the predator bacteria to understand their ability to survive in the lungs and their interaction with prey, and to try using predator bacteria to control the CF lung microbiota, she said.

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The study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Institute of Health Carlos III) and by REIPI, the Spanish network for research in infectious diseases, cofinanced by the European Development Regional Fund.

The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 50,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.

ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications and educational opportunities. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences.